Review: Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson

Review: Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson

By Jan

on November 12th, 2015

Dust and Shadow: An Account of the Ripper Killings by Dr. John H. Watson Written by: Lyndsay Faye; Narrated by: Simon Vance; Format: Audiobook. A pastiche of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories, this one takes place in 1888 London. The mystery, of course, is Jack the Ripper and the horrible murders that shocked and frightened Victorian England. Faye…

Review: Blood on the Water

By Jan

on August 5th, 2015

Blood on the Water: A William Monk Novel by Anne Perry Genre: Historical Mystery; Publisher: Ballantine Books (2014); ISBN: 978-0345548436. Although I missed a couple of the latest books in the William Monk series by Anne Perry, I was sent this one in exchange for an honest review and was excited to get back on the horse, so to speak. As…

Review: Red Jacket

By Jan

on November 28th, 2014

Red Jacket: A Lute Bapcat Mystery by Joseph Heywood ASIN: B00MJD7H1Q This is the first volume in a series of historical mysteries starring Lute Bapcat, a newly-minted game warden in far northern Michigan just before WorldWar I. The location is what caught my attention, because ancestors of mine lived and worked on the Keweenaw Peninsula in the U.P. (Upper Peninsula). They…

Review: The Midwife’s Revolt

By Jan

on September 8th, 2014

The Midwife’s Revolt by Jodi Daynard Published by: Opossom Press (2013) ASIN: B00AHJ5J00 I do love a good historical novel or mystery, and this book includes both. Lizzie Boylston is a young widow in 1775 who lives near John and Abigail Adams in Braintree, Massachusetts. Lizzie is a midwife and healer, and although she grew up in the city of…

Review: Hell With the Lid Blown Off

By Jan

on July 26th, 2014

Hell With the Lid Blown Off: An Alafair Tucker Mystery by Donis Casey Poisoned Pen Press (June 2014) ISBN: 978-1464202988 I had no idea that this book was the seventh in a series when I read it. You don’t have to have read the previous stories to understand and appreciate it. I enjoyed it very much and will definitely be looking at the…

Review: The Hangman’s Daughter & The Dark Monk

By Jan

on May 13th, 2013

The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch The Dark Monk: A Hangman’s Daughter Tale by Oliver Potzsch Genre: Historical Fiction/Mystery The Hangman’s Daughter is the first book, and I didn’t come to it unprepared. I’d read quite a few reviews and knew the basic premise. I was still excited by the story, and Potzsch’s power of description is quite amazing. Although the…

The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers

By Jan

on July 26th, 2012

The Ship Inn, Gatehouse of Fleet, formerly known as the Anworth, where Dorothy L. Sayers wrote the book “Five Red Herrings”, a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery that included many local landmarks. Located in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. When I visited the area in 2007, the guide pointed out this inn with the sign. He also showed us a few…

Review: Caveat Emptor

By Jan

on June 8th, 2012

Caveat Emptor: A Novel of the Roman Empire by Ruth Downie; Bloomsbury USA (2010), Hardcover, 352 pages; This fourth volume in the series finds Ruso back in Britain and reluctantly as usual on the case of a missing tax collector. I say as usual because he seldom has his way with anything, it seems, and for a Roman citizen with…